New Beginnings
by Nuwanda
Summary: After the events of the Abbington Gala, Clint and Tony try to hammer out the details of their new relationship. Established relationship, Tony Stark/Clint Barton.


**A/N: This is the "sequel" to "Stark With a Drink, End With a Kiss". It begins the morning after the Abbington Gala.**

* * *

Clint woke with a start to the sound of a phone going off. It wasn't his. His had been in his suit coat pocket, discarded somewhere near the front door only moments after they had gotten inside.

His mind immediately drifted back to the night before…Tony in his arms…..his mouth, hot and wet, on Clint's body. The way it felt to be inside him, that tight hot heat. Tony's eyes…so beautiful and full of passion. The way that it felt when Tony said "I love you."

…..fuck. Tony loved him. He honest to God loved him. Clint still couldn't believe that. He couldn't believe that he _liked_ the fact that Tony loved him. But he did.

_"Sir."_

Clint started as Jarvis spoke up.

_"Agent Coulson is on the line."_

"Yea, yea." Tony came into the room, flopping on the bed, answering the phone. "What is it?" Whatever Coulson said, it clearly didn't please him. Clint was still on his stomach, face buried in the pillow, but he could tell just from Tony's tone of voice that he wasn't happy. "Why." His tone was brusque, and Clint couldn't help but smile. Coulson really didn't like Tony, and that attitude wasn't going to help at all. "Fine. Okay. We'll be there in a while." There was a clatter as Tony tossed the phone back onto the nightstand.

Clint felt the bed shift as Tony moved closer, and then Tony's hand slipped into Clint's hair, gently tugging his head up so he could get a look at Clint's face. "Oh, good…you're just as pretty sober and in the light of day."

Clint sorted. "Asshole."

Tony grinned. "That's me." He let go of Clint's hair; Clint rolled over onto his back so he could face Tony, smiling.

"You think I'm gorgeous."

"Damn straight." He leaned in, kissing Clint. "Coulson just called us in."

"Aw, dammit."

"Tell me about it. Didn't say why…..just said for me to get my ass in. Doesn't know you're here, so you've probably got a message on your phone."

"Fuck." Clint sat up. "He's gonna be pissed at me."

"Probably. He's a bastard."

Clint laughed. "He can be."

Tony sat up, giving Clint another kiss. "C'mon…..I made breakfast."

Clint was surprise. "….breakfast?"

"Yea. Told you last night. Was gonna use the banana for pancakes."

Clint stared for a minute, then burst out laughing. "You are so weird."

"You better believe it." He slid from the bed, and gave that little shrug-nod. "C'mon. They're gonna get cold."

Smiling, Clint followed Tony down the hall to the kitchen, blatantly staring at the man's backside. He hadn't really gotten a good look last night, but damn, it was nice.

"So, I have to warn you…." Tony looked over his shoulder, and paused. "….are you staring at my ass?"

Clint just grinned. "Yup. S'that a problem?"

"….I don't know. Do you think it's as nice as I know it is?"

Clint cracked up. "You're so modest."

"Hey, no reason to be modest when you've got an ass like mine."

"Hmm…" Clint took another appraising look. "….guess that's true."

Tony grinned. "Glad you agree." He paused. "Oh. I was saying. Just a forewarning…pretty much anything I cook looks like crap. So these pancakes are pretty ugly. But they'll taste good. Promise."

Clint laughed. "Okay. I consider myself warned."

"Good." Tony led the way into the kitchen, stopping in front of the counter. Clint stared at the pancakes. Tony watched Clint, taking in his reaction.

"…..well," Clint spoke up at last, "you weren't kidding."

Tony laughed. "Nope, not at all."

Clint took another look at the pancakes, cocking his head as he considered them. "…..how the hell do you make square pancakes?"

"I have no idea."

"Seriously…you pour the batter in the pan, it spreads out in a circular pattern. Square pancakes should be impossible. How did you _do_ that?"

"I don't know!"

"That's gotta be a special skill."

"Well, at least it's a skill."

Clint shook his head, grinning, and sat down. Tony placed a plate in front of him.

"Here."

"Thanks." Clint picked up a fork, cutting into the extremely ugly pancakes, taking a bite. "….okay, yeah. These are really good."

"Told you." Tony sat down opposite Clint, digging into his own pancakes. "I may make ugly food, but it tastes good."

Clint chuckled. "When did Coulson want us in?"

"Right away. Whatever. He can wait a while. We'll eat first."

Clint shook his head. "You really like pissing him off, don't you."

"Hey, he likes pissing me off just as much. And I want breakfast."

"Good. From what I've heard, you don't eat much."

Tony just looked at Clint, chewing slowly. "…..yea, I sort of forget."

"How can you forget to eat?"

"I get caught up in my work."

"Geez."

"Oi. Shut up."

"No." Clint finished his incredibly delicious but extremely awkward looking pancakes. "You need to eat."

Tony grinned. "Aww, you care about me."

Clint flushed. "Shut up."

Tony laughed. "Sorry." Finishing his own plate, he rose, taking Clint's dish and bringing them both to the sink. "Okay…let's get dressed and go."

"Yeah." Clint followed Tony to the bedroom. "Aw, shit."

"What?" Tony looked up from where he was rifling through his drawers.

"I don't have any clean clothes."

"Oh." Tony just looked at Clint, thinking. "…..did you want to stop at your place?"

"We really don't have time." Cling shook his head. "Shit. Guess I'll just wear the suit."

Tony grinned. "Well, you look great in it."

Clint gave him a look. "Shut up. You know how weird it's gonna look when I show up at SHIELD headquarters in a suit?"

"Well, you don't have to wear the whole thing! Just the pants and shirt. It won't be too formal. I'd give you one of my shirts, but you're really a lot more fit than me. It'd be absolutely skin-tight." Tony paused as the words really sank in. "….on second thought, that sounds really good. You wanna borrow one?"

Clint punched Tony's shoulder. "Ass."

"Ow! Geez." Tony rubbed his shoulder. "Can you at least hit me somewhere else? This shoulder hurts like a mofo!"

"Sorry." And, in a move sappier than any Clint would ever have imagined could have come from him, he leaned in and kissed the spot he had punched. When he pulled away, he saw Tony looking at him with wide, surprised eyes. He flushed. "….shut up."

Tony just smiled. "I didn't say anything."

Clint slipped on his pants. "You were thinking it."

"I'm allowed to think."

"….shut up." Clint finished buttoning up his shirt.

Tony laughed. "Fine. I won't think ever again. All my inventing will cease. I'll probably get killed in battle. All for the sake of pleasing you."

Clint nearly punched Tony again, stopping just in time. Tony grinned at that. Clint glared. "….ass."

Tony laughed. "You love me." Immediately he flushed. "I mean…..well…..you know what I mean."

"Yeah. I know what you mean." Tony was obviously embarrassed. Clint leaned in, kissing him, wanting to alleviate those fears. It worked. All the nervousness faded from Tony's face, and he smiled. Clint stroked his cheek. "You ready to go?"

Tony nodded. "Yea…ready."

"Okay." Clint kissed him again, taking his hand. "Let's go."

The audi was still parked right where they left it, but this time, Clint opened Tony's door for him. Tony's face lit up once again with that brilliant smile. Clint was falling in love with that smile. He was beginning to realize that he would go to any lengths to keep that smile on Tony's face.

He slid into the passenger seat, and Tony turned to him. "Ready to go face Coulson's wrath?"

Clint burst out laughing. "Is anyone ever ready for that?"

Tony grinned. "Good point. I guess the real question is….do we have a choice?"

Clint shook his head. "Not at all."

"Okay, then." Tony gunned the car to life. "Let's go."

The car sped down the road. Clint felt a little tremor of nervousness. How would the others react to all of this? It was sure to be fairly awkward. But in the end, he would make it through. They would make it through. Because Clint wanted this to work. He wanted this relationship to work. And that was worth enduring any amount of awkwardness.

He glanced at Tony. Those brown eyes were fixed on the road. Reaching out, Clint found Tony's hand, taking hold. Tony looked at him in surprise. Clint smiled, giving Tony's hand a little squeeze. Tony smiled, squeezing back.

And with that, Clint knew. With Tony by his side, he could handle whatever difficulty came his way. Somehow, someway, everything would be okay.

**~tbc~**


End file.
